Song of the Week #25

To the best of my knowledge, I own albums belonging to 2 Belgian bands.  This is one of them.

Debate

No, I didn't watch the debate.  I don't care and I'm not going to submit myself to hearing a single line of bullshit that Trump spouts.  I think the debates in general are just a complete waste of time as I can't believe there are still any undecided voters left.  You're either a rational, decent person or someone who votes for Trump.  I'm updating my prediction - I still think Trump is going to win re-election, but I think Biden is going to win the popular vote.

More Smoke

Well, this is annoying.  The weather forecast for this week is terrific, sunny and clear skies.  But apparently that doesn't account for the smoke forecast.  And just been reading this evening that smoke is likely going to come into our region again beginning tomorrow.  So my plan of taking a couple of days off work and going to Mount Rainier and/or Hurricane Ridge in the Olympics is kind of up in the air.  Again.  Not happy.  I'm still taking a day off work tomorrow - unless the air quality rapidly deteriorates overnight, I think I will still try to go somewhere.

Fireworks

The Seattle Seahawks have started the season 3-0, and despite not having watched any of their games I know exactly when they won because fireworks go off.  Doesn't matter what time of day it is - like today, they played an afternoon game and it was still light when the game ended and the fireworks were set off - and it's not some isolated idiot, it's lot of people setting off different types of fireworks.  The Seahawks fandom is strong round here - a stark contrast to my time in San Diego when the Chargers results were treated with indifference (though that still doesn't justify moving that franchise to Los Angeles).  When I was outside this afternoon, I could hear multiple households cheering and jeering to the ebb and flow of the game.  And it may be a toss up as to whether there are more households with a US flag or more households with a Seahawks flag.  Obviously the prevalence of Seahawks fans makes them absolutely obnoxious (though not as bad as anyone from New England/Boston), and utterly impossible to get tickets for any of their games (not that you could go watch them right now anyway).  But it makes me jealous of not being a part of a hardcore fanbase - I can't really say that about my support for Palace, especially being all the way out here.  So I think I need to take my support of the Seattle Kraken to the next level when they start their debut season next year.  If they're any good!  Yes, I guess I'm just a lowlife glory fan.            

Green Fingers

I've just bought myself some indoor plants - a spider plant, a syngonium and a chinese evergreen.  All of them, apparently, are easy to maintain and don't require a lot of light - which is good because at least 2 of them are going in my living room which tends to be quite dark.  Let's see how long it takes me to kill them!  I already don't fancy the chances of the spider plant - I don't think I got it in good condition.   I do not have a good record when it comes to plants - I'm the kind of person who is able to kill a cactus.  Though most of the succulents I ordered about 4 months ago are still hanging on, so maybe I've turned a corner.     

Cold

For the first time in what feels like ages but is really only a couple of months, I had to wear a top over my t-shirt today.  The heavy rain we've had for the last few days has been accompanied by a noticeable drop in temperatures.  The good news is that we are back to some sunny and warm weather next week (and I'll probably be taking a few days off work, as it might be the last decent opportunity to drive up to some mountainous areas - though I'm expecting my car service due light to come on any day soon).   

History

I've been thinking a lot about history, mainly because we're clearly living through one of the most important and memorable moments in our lifetime - at least up until now.  Historians will analyze this period of time for decades in the future - how did it happen, what kind of impact did it have, how has it changed the world.  And it got me thinking about what are the most significant historical events to happen in the 21st century so far.   And I think these are my top 5.

5. Brexit

4. Smartphones

3. Pandemic

2. Trump

1. 9/11

I'm solid with 1 to 3, I'm okay with 4 (mainly because I think the development of the smartphone has been the catalyst for a number of other important things e.g. reliance on the internet and WiFi, social media, how we consume music/TV/etc, the new sharing economy - the only question I have is whether the smartphone is the cause or the effect?  If it's the effect, then maybe I should replace "Smartphones" with "Rise of the Internet") and I went back and forth a lot with 5 (mainly because I don't think we really know yet what the true impact of Brexit will be - but I think it's by far the most important British political moment in the 21st century).  What else did I consider?  Barack Obama, Arab Spring, Climate Change, absolutely no sporting events.  It feels like I've forgotten a number of other significant moments...  

Song of the Week #24

 Well shoot, summer officially ended yesterday.  So what better time for a classic summer tune from the very early 90's.

Note: if you're viewing this on your phone, then select "View web version" to see the YouTube video.  It's absolutely pathetic that this bug still exists, but I can't change how I insert videos into my blog posts now.

Another note: I think I might have fixed it.  By actually editing the HTML code.  Good grief, has it come to that?

Soreness

After a week of inactivity due to smoke, 2 hikes in 2 days and my body is rebelling.  Perhaps because I've tried to do these hikes a bit more quicker than normal - they've been exhausting, my leg muscles are sore and, perhaps worse of all, I've got backache again.  Hikes are supposed to be relaxing, and I do like the fact that they let your mind wonder.  But my first hike was ruined by an annoying fly that must have bothered me for 3 of the 5 miles.  And today, too many people on the trail I went on.  And I would say that about 75% of them instantly put on their face mask when they saw me.  Now I've been quite a vocal proponent of wearing a mask - particularly when it was required in the US and not in the UK.  But I don't wear one when I go hiking - and I don't feel it's necessary when you're outside and the trail is wide enough to pass with sufficient social distance.  However, it would be considerate to actually move to the side of the trail when you pass someone, and so many people didn't - and that so pissed me off.  At least I have a few days for my body to recover - heavy rain and thunderstorms in the forecast for the rest of the week...    

Changing Tastes

 An evolution of my changing tastes in the 4 major US sports.  Here are my favorites:

10 years ago

1. NFL, 2. MLB, 3. NHL, 4: NBA

Now

1. NBA, 2. NHL, 3. NFL, 4. MLB

Yes, my sporting tastes have almost reversed over 10 years.  And with Seattle getting a hockey team, and not having had a basketball team for a while now, every chance it could change again.  I have actually just put myself on the waiting list for season tickets for the Seattle Kraken.  But judging by how quickly these sold out, I think my chances of actually getting any are slim to none.

PS5

The new Playstation 5 console is coming out at the end of the year, and I want one.  I'm nowhere near as much of a consumer of video games as I used to be, but I go through phases - particularly in this current climate where you're stuck at home most of the day - when I get caught up in a game.  And the games that we have now can be so involving and time-consuming and difficult, but extremely high quality.  I also want a 4K blu ray player, and the PS5 (or at least the more expensive model of the PS5) includes that.  So they started taking preorders this week.  And it was predictably an absolute trainwreck.  Sites crashed, limited availability, instantaneous sellouts (in seconds rather than minutes) and Sony already suggesting that they're not going to be able to meet demand on the day of release.  I haven't preordered mine yet - and I'm not particularly keen on going through the hassle it seems to be, but we shall see.  If it's anything like the Nintendo Switch, it could prove really difficult to get one even long after it's release, so better to get on the bandwagon sooner rather than later.

Premier League on NBC

Another moan, sorry.  So, the NBC coverage of the Premier League has been good - up until this season.  Now, in an attempt to draw in more subscribers, a lot of the games are being shown on NBC's new streaming service rather than on one of the TV channels.  I get the streaming service for free, but it's still a disaster.  The games on the streaming service are of lower video quality, I can't record them and watch them when I wake up and they are a lot less easy to fast-forward and rewind etc.  I wouldn't have a problem if when there are multiple games being played at the same time, that one of the games is on TV and the others are on the streaming service.  But no, that's not the case.  Take today.  There were 4 games on at different times.  In any other season, these would all have been on one or more NBC channels - so it would be easy for me to DVR them all and pick and choose how much of each game I want to watch in full or just to fast-forward to the goals.  But nope, today one game was on TV and the others were all on the streaming service (and of the 10 games this weekend, only 2 are on TV and 8 are being streamed).  So I don't have that option any more.  It sucks.  Although there are plenty of other sports going on right now, it's not like they were showing a lot of other stuff at the time of the games.  Take Palace vs Man U - this would normally be on TV because Man U are a big team.  But nope, this was on the streaming service.  And what sports did they air at the time of the game?  "Motorcycle action from the American Flat Track racing series".  WTF.  Not happy.  This is on top of NBC apparently having dropped all their rugby union coverage - which is devastating.  You used to be able to get one game on TV per week - whether live or on repeat - but apart from one game when they first restarted the Premiership, there haven't been any on since.  I really hope this is just a temporary thing due to the sheer quantity of sports going on right now, but I fear this is more permanent.     

Disaster

I'm writing this about 30 minutes after the news broke that Ruth Bader Ginsberg has died.  Obviously, the news of anyone dying is sad - but this is a real tragedy.  I have no doubt that Trump and the Republicans (particularly that f*cker Mitch McConnell) will force in another conservative Supreme Court judge before the end of his term, despite the stunning hypocrisy it shows when they didn't allow Obama's nomination to go through in the last year of his presidency.  And unfortunately, this maybe the sad and lasting legacy of Trump's presidency - a very right-leaning Supreme Court that could have a profound effect on the future of the US (for example, I'm thinking especially of something like abortion rights).  3 appointments to the Supreme Court in Trump's potentially just 4-year term, and the damage could last for decades when these judges have lifelong terms.  Expect this to be yet another divisive and angry battleground topic in the lead up to the election - and yet another unwelcome development in this really awful year.  It almost feels destined that Trump will win re-election now - excuse my crudeness, but that would be the diarrhea topping on the sh*tcake that is the year 2020.

Ads

I've just watched consecutive ads for completing the census (which I think was originally due before Easter, which says a lot about the response rate) and then, unbelievably, for the USPS.  Yes, apparently the US Postal Service has enough money to advertise despite having to take extreme cost-cutting measures (which are obviously not politically motivated in any way whatsoever).  Just how messed up is this - that it is necessary to advertise for something you are required by law to complete, and a government agency with constitutional responsibility to provide a postal service.  Crazy.  But what else would you expect in these times and with this government.  Unless it's an absolute rout (unlikely), then also expect the election and the election results to be absolutely chaotic and very contested.     

Dark

Still bad air quality.  Still stuck indoors.  Still not getting enough exercise.  I think today might have been a really nice and sunny day, but still got this cloud of smoke hanging over us that makes it foggy in the morning and gloomy and hazy during the rest of the day.  At least it felt like it was better today than it has been - are things finally going to clear up?  Some rain in the forecast for Friday should help.  If you see a map of the smoke across the US, it's now reached New York.  Crazy.  At least it's ensured climate change is right back up there as a hot political topic - something Trump's stance is unequivocally losing voters over.    

Song of the Week #23

3 words.  Canadian.  Prog.  Rock.  Nuff said.

Weather Forecasting

All the weather forecasts had the smoke clearing out today.  And what happened?  The smoke is hanging around.  I don't think any of the weather models know how to incorporate smoke accurately into their forecasts, it's not very impressive.  So the air quality alert that was in effect until today has now been extended out until Thursday.  Great.  It really isn't very nice outside, the haze and the smell are pronounced - I hate to say this, but we really need some rain.  This has kind of ruined any plans I had to take any days off or go hiking - or even to go outside.  And by the time it clears, we'll probably be back into the rainy and autumnal season.  Goodbye summer, it was nice knowing you. What a crappy year this is turning out to be.

TV Recommendation

With the dearth of new programs, I'd say there is only one must-watch show on my radar at the moment - The Vow.  No, it's not some sappy teenage rom-com.  This is a documentary about the modern day cult NXIVM (pronounced Nexium).  It's a fascinating inside look at how it worked.  And based on the kind of courses offered by HR at my company, and many other companies throughout the US, you can see how this might have drawn in a lot of rich and successful Americans - they just lap up this kind of personal wellness and self-empowerment shtick.  I think the leader of the cult comes across like a really pretentious douchebag, but the slow build to his downfall is enjoyable.  I won't spoil things too much here, but if you don't know any of the story then the reveals are absolutely shocking.  I had seen some of the headlines at the time of the trial, but knew none of the details.  With my healthy dose of pessimism and skepticism, I don't think there is any chance I could ever join a cult.  Not that they would want me.      

Sports Equinox

Did you know that Thursday was one of those rare sports equinoxes in the US?  It's when all four major sports - baseball (MLB), American football (NFL), ice hockey (NHL) and basketball (NBA) - play on the same day.  It doesn't happen that often, but because the pandemic has really messed up the schedules it's going to happen quite a few times this month (including I think tomorrow).  They're calling Thursday a mega-equinox because there were a slew of other sports being played that day as well.  If you add women's basketball (WNBA) and "soccer" (MLS) - then that is the first day in history that all 6 were played on the same day.  Plus there were a number of other significant sporting events going on - including tennis (US Open) and cycling (Tour de France).  And now the Premier League is back as well (good win for Palace in what I fear could be a relegation battle this season).  This month will be good for sports - though the lack of crowds still makes everything feel unreal and not quite right.     

Smoke

You know things are bad when you get an e-mail alert that reads "Emergency alert: There is a super massive cloud of smoke outside of California and Oregon.  The wind is changing direction and it's coming your way tomorrow.  You have today to prepare.  Let your family and friends know.".  This week the wind has been easterly so the smoke from wildfires in Central/East Washington was blowing into West Washington.  But now the winds are southerly, so all the smoke from Oregon and California has started blowing into our region today and over the weekend.  And there is a lot more of this smoke, so the air quality was noticeably worse today.  I remember times in California where everything outside got covered with ash from wildfires - I think we're sufficiently far away from the actual fires that that won't happen here.  But doing any sort of exercise outside is highly not recommended - so I won't be doing any hiking this weekend!  In fact, I think they've closed all the parks and beaches in the Seattle-area over the weekend.  Officially, air quality is going to be "Unhealthy", "Very Unhealthy" or "Hazardous" this weekend - so seems like they're still not entirely sure how bad the impact is going to be.  I've left some windows open otherwise my house just gets too hot - but I might have to consider closing them if it deteriorates more.  And if we should stay indoors, then that could make for a very uncomfortable weekend.  These are apocalyptic times.

Milestones

A couple of significant milestones this week.  Firstly, it was my 5 year anniversary in my job - or at least my 5 year anniversary since rejoining.  I didn't reach my 5 year milestone before - so that says a lot about how much more settled I am in my job than I was before.  Though would still be glad if I had something more substantial to work on!  Apart from a small gift - basically you get given some points that you can redeem at this crappy corporate website, which rather than get something overpriced I thought I'd just exchange for a $200 Amazon gift card - the best thing about reaching 5 years is that you get an extra week's vacation.  So hopefully my vacation allowance will start accruing at a higher rate now (and I have already got quite a lot of hours in the bucket - getting up towards 200 hours now.  Hopefully I can spend them soon!  Apparently our company is still going to cap how many hours you can accrue - which kind of sucks given how limited travel is right now).  The other significant milestone I reached this week is 9 months in length.  Yes, the length of time it takes from conception to birth is also the length of time I took between haircuts.  Finally gave in and got a haircut this week - my first haircut in 2020 - my hair was just too out of control and I was starting to get embarrassed by it.  The barbers where I go have jacked up their prices, not really a surprise but kind of disappointing.  But then it is kind of strange to get your haircut whilst still wearing a mask - and the haircut takes longer because they kind of have to maneuver around that.  But at least I don't have to wear a baseball cap all the time now!      

Song of the Week #22

This is an interesting choice - an artist whose albums are critically and universally acclaimed, but who I just don't get.  I think her songs (at least the older ones) sound like a female Ben Folds Five.  I also think that her strength is lyrics, but of all the things that go into a good song I think melody, a beat and bass are more important to me.  I've listened to a few of her tracks now, and sometimes I like her voice - like in the choice below - but sometimes I don't.  I think maybe she might grow on me the more I listen to her - but I don't have the patience for that.  Very confusing.

     

Wildfires

It’s not just California that is being affected by wildfires, but the entire West Coast.  As if we don’t have enough to deal with right now!  Woke up this morning to some decidedly poor air quality – so very smoky smelling.  It was so bad that it smelt like my entire house had just undergone a self-cleaning oven cycle run, which I had coincidentally just run last night (and had me worried that it had kept on running overnight!).  This couldn’t have come at a worse time – I was planning a day off work tomorrow, with the aim of going to either Mount Rainier or Olympic National Park.  But I’ve decided to postpone until a clearer day, since there is no point going when the views are going to be hazy and/or obscured by smoke and the air quality makes outdoor exercise not recommended.  Even though the webcam views I’ve just checked at these places don’t seem that bad, when I went for a drive at lunch it was extremely noticeable.  We’ve got a couple of severe weather alerts right now – an air quality alert for smoke and a red flag warning.  Gusty winds, low humidity and warm temperatures  have made for the imminent threat of fire.  And currently there are a lot of fires in East and Central Washington, the smoke of which is being blown into West Washington where I am.  Of course, since all of the fires are on the West Coast and not happening in battleground States or pro-Trump States, then can expect absolutely no significant government or federal support for dealing with this environmental catastrophe.  Probably not even a mention by Trump.  What is amazing also is that Denver, not really that far away, is under a winter weather advisory.  The weather extremes in the US are just ridiculous and getting more exaggerated each year that passes.  This is also where I regret not living somewhere where I can see the sunset – the smoky atmosphere makes for some stunning colors as the sun dips below the horizon.

Labor Day

I wanted to go to Mount Rainier today - but it's a bank holiday today (Labor Day) and if I wanted to avoid the crowds (which I do, regardless of a global pandemic) then I would have to leave early.  Like 6 am early.  And I just couldn't do it - I need to get my sleep patterns back in shape so that I'm going to sleep earlier and I'm not so tired in the mornings.  I'll try another time - maybe on a work day, where I can take a morning off and if I can leave at 6 am, do a hike, then I should be able to get home around lunch.  This is too typical of me - I have good intentions, but don't always follow through on them.

Labor Day feels like the end of summer - and it especially feels like that when it gets dark so early.  It wasn't long ago that the sun was setting well past 9 pm, and now it's dark by 8 pm and rapidly getting earlier and earlier.  Before long, those early evening walks are going to have to be replaced by morning or lunchtime ones.  At least the weather still feels like summer, at least this week.  I think I've worn shorts more often this summer than any other summer on record. 

Midway

Time for another film review - this one on the 2019 war film Midway.  This is exactly the kind of bombastic, jingoistic nonsense that Americans lap up - personally I thought it was trash.  And I think this probably bared so little resemblance to the actual events of the Battle of Midway - just an excuse for a series of ridiculous and unreal looking CGI set pieces, accompanied by story-telling and character development with no semblance of subtlety or nuance (e.g. when a Japanese sailor looks at his ship and says it is like a powder keg, I wonder what is going to happen to it later on?).  Obviously all Americans are portrayed as heroes, as are the Chinese (I suspect needlessly inserted into the film at the bequest of some Chinese production company) and all Japanese are villains.  Yet, somehow, this film is still miles better than it's most similar counterpart - Pearl Harbor.  The reason - no absolutely cringe-worthy love triangle here.  2 stars.

Pointless Sports

I know we've been deprived of decent sports this year - think the Olympics and the Euros.  But of all the sporting events to actually go ahead, why the heck are we bothering with the UEFA Nations League.  What an absolutely pointless and stupid waste of time and resources.  As if football players don't have enough matches to play post-lockdown.  Even though it was on over here I didn't even bother watching the England game today, since there was no doubt that the quality of play was going to be absolutely dreadful - and by all accounts it was a totally dull game (apart from maybe the last 5 minutes).  My sport of choice for a while now has been Australian Rules Football - and I've been watching an awful lot of games recently (normally recorded since they tend to be on in the early hours my time).  I think I'm adding watching a game live to my bucket list (and if that involves travelling to Australia, well that is a pleasant bonus).

Song of the Week #21.5

Because it's quite late, I'm tired, and my laptop battery is about to run out, I'll just quickly include another music video here instead of actually writing a long post.  Some hair metal for your enjoyment.

Coronasomnia

I was just about to write a post about my increasingly deteriorating sleep patterns - but thought I'd have a quick look at the news first.  And what was the first article I saw?  Why, it was about how the pandemic is ruining our sleep.  So I guess I'm not the the only one!  Yep, I am not sleeping well at all at the moment - to the extent that I have even had an afternoon nap a few times this week.  Obviously lots of stress factors having a big affect - not least of which is the pandemic.  I think working from home, when you don't have much at all to work on, is really starting to get to me.  I need to be engaged in something, otherwise I am just unfocused and tired all the time.  I've been on a hike every day this week, but even that hasn't really helped.  All this extra time on my hands has also made me reflect on my life a lot - which is not necessarily a good thing.  I'm sure things will pick up again soon, at least at work - these things always tend to be cyclical.  I don't know about everything else though.   

Vaccine

It’s quite shameless that it seems like the CDC and US government are going to try to push through approval of a vaccine prior to the election.  Of course I want to see a safe and effective vaccine available to everyone as soon as possible.  But you cannot rush proving safety and efficacy of any drug, no matter how critical the need is.  Cue montage of movies featuring researchers speeding up the process by testing experimental drugs on the poor and homeless or themselves and it all going really well.  And the timing seems remarkably convenient in order to attract those last minute undecided votes.  Once again, this is the politicization of something that shouldn’t be politicized – just like Trump should never have gone to Wisconsin to “support the police”.  All he has done is stoke tensions further, especially as his re-election campaign increasingly pivots to a law and order platform.  I still don’t trust the polls, and I still think he is going to win the election – never underestimate the stupidity of the American people. 

Miscellaneous

- I see that the Tour de France has belatedly started, though just like all the other sporting events going on right now it feels a little bit half-baked.  I heard that if one cyclist tests positive, the whole Tour will just be cancelled.  If that's correct (which I doubt), wow.  My other major comment from catching some of the highlights from one of the stages (NBC Sports for the love of god please provide some condensed highlights of each stage - 3 hours of "highlights"each night is just too much), I think it is outrageous that some teams wear yellow which looks too similar and takes away some of the prestige of the actual yellow jersey.   

- Yesterday afternoon got a bit anxious.  A site meeting was scheduled at extremely short notice, and there was a lot of speculation as to what would warrant organizing such a meeting for all the employees at the Seattle site.  The first thought that crossed my mind was about the future of the Seattle site - which has been at risk before, but I don't think it is currently and I don't think they would have passed on this news to everyone this way.  Then the second thought was that someone in the office had caught the virus, and so they were shutting down the office.  In actuality, it was to pass on the sad news that someone in the office had passed away.  I don't know the details, but they said it happened when the guy was hiking so it is extremely unlikely to be virus-related.  Not someone I knew or I ever interacted with, but I think this might be first time I've ever encountered the situation of someone in the office dying.  And this guy was younger than me, which makes it a bit worse.

- Check out this fellow I saw on a local walk yesterday:

In case you can't make that out in the shade, yes that's a big-ass owl just hanging out on a branch over the trail - which is kind of cool.

- And a quick remark on my baseball team - the San Diego Padres.  Or as they like to be called now, after setting a league record of consecutive games with a grand slam, the Slam Diego Padres.  A young, brash team who - for the first time I can remember - are scoring loads of runs and quickly turning into fan favorites.  They currently have the second best record in the NL, behind only bitter division rivals the LA Dodgers, and they just went crazy and all-in before the trade deadline by exchanging about 26 players to go for the championship this year.  Baseball is still utterly turgid to watch, but at least the Padres are trying to make it more fun this year.